Novak Djokovic backed to emulate Roger Federer to go and break all records

Novak Djokovic of Serbia holds up the trophy during the trophy awarding ceremony after the men's singles final match between Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Rafael Nadal of Spain at 2019 Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 27, 2019. (Xinhua/Bai Xue/IANS)Xinhua

Serbian tennis player Janko Tipsarevic says his fellow countryman Novak Djokovic will emulate Roger Federer and retire late in his career. Janko Tipsarevic also says the present world number one in Men's Singles will go and break all records.

Roger Federer leads the list for the most number of Grand Slam won. The Swiss tennis ace has won 20 Grand Slam titles. Rafael Nadal is second in the charts with 17 Grand Slam titles, Novak Djokovic has 15 to his name.

At the age of 37, Roger Federer is still competing at the highest level and Janko Tipsarevic says Novak Djokovic, who is now 31, can replicate Roger Federer's retirement plans and continue playing for more than five more years at the top level.

"I think he will go and break all the records. Australian Open showed two things, how much Djokovic and Nadal are ahead in front of the rest of the field and how superior is Novak at the top," Janko Tipsarevic said, as reported by Express.

"Also, Novak is going to play on a high level for five or six more years and be the dominant player on the Tour at the age of 37 or 38. He will play a fewer number of tournaments but will break all the records," he added.

2017 was a disappointing year for Novak Djokovic due to his elbow injury. 2018 was good and he regained the top spot at the ATP rankings. The Serbian started 2019 by winning the Australian Open. Janko Tipsarevic says his countryman moving to the top once again was not a surprise for him.

"I will have to start recording my own words. I was with Novak in Monte Carlo last spring, talking about everything, and I said to [Marian] Vajda, Jelena [Djokovic], Artaldi and Novak himself that it is only a question of time when he will return to the top. They were staring at me like at some lunatic. He was the world No 17 at that point and I said to him he would be No 1 in 12 months," Janko Tipsarevic said.

"Novak was completely healthy at that point, staying away from injuries and bad decisions that players often make when they are not at 100 per cent. Murray and I made some rushed decisions, so did Novak, so I asked him first does that elbow still hurts him. Novak said he is pain-free and I knew he would return to his best, although it did surprise me how quickly he managed to do that."